Seattle City Agrees to Rs. 262 Crore as Compensation in Jaahnavi Kandula Case

Seattle, Feb 12: The city of Seattle has agreed to pay $29 million (about Rs. 262 crore) in compensation to the family of Jaahnavi Kandula, the Telugu student who died in a police negligence case. City Attorney Erica Evans announced the settlement, calling Jaahnavi’s death “deeply tragic” and expressing hope that the agreement would provide some relief to her family.

Jaahnavi, 23, from Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, had gone to the U.S. in 2021 for higher studies and was pursuing a Master’s degree at Northeastern University’s South Lake Union campus. On January 23, 2023, she was struck by a speeding police patrol vehicle while crossing the road and died instantly.

The officer involved, Kevin Dave, was later dismissed after his body camera recorded him making insensitive remarks about Jaahnavi’s death, which sparked outrage both in India and the U.S. Reports indicated that he was driving at 119 kph in a 40 kph zone, and the impact threw Jaahnavi nearly 100 feet.